Weingarten Realty closed a $200 million unsecured term loan. The initial term of the loan is one year, and at the company’s option can be repaid at par after nine months.
Borrowing rates under the agreement float at a margin over LIBOR. The margin is priced off a grid that is tied to the company’s senior unsecured credit ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Based on WRI’s current senior unsecured credit rating, the LIBOR margin is 1.25 percent.
“We are pleased to close this term loan which provides us additional short-term capacity as the company executes our previously announced accelerated disposition program,” Weingarten CFO and Executive Vice President Steve Richter said in a statement. “This new loan will allow the Company the ability to pay down debt as these transactions are completed.”
The Bank of Nova Scotia was the lead arranger and is the administrative agent. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and PNC Bank N.A. served as co-arrangers and syndication agents. U.S. Bank N.A. served as the documentation agent. Compass Bank was also a participant in the loan.
CB Richard Ellis Brokers Sale of Edgewood Retail District
CB Richard Ellis closed the sale of Edgewood Retail District, a regional shopping center located at the intersection of Moreland Avenue and Caroline Street, in Atlanta. The property was acquired by an affiliate of Toronto/Florida based North American Development Group for $81.6 million.
Casey Rosen and Chris Decoufle of CBRE’s national retail investment group Florida and Atlanta teams exclusively represented the seller which was an affiliate of Bell Partners Inc.
Edgewood Retail District, a 531,287-square-foot, in-fill trophy shopping center, located 2 miles east of downtown Atlanta, is the primary shopping destination for residents of East Atlanta’s historic in-town neighborhoods. The property is 99 percent occupied and is anchored by Target (separately owned), Lowe’s Home Improvement, Kroger Supermarket, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond and Ross Dress for Less, in addition to a wide array of other national and regional complementary merchants and restaurants.
In a separate transaction, CBRE facilitated the sale disposition of two Florida neighborhood shopping centers, Riviera Square in Riviera Beach and Sample Plaza in Pompano Beach, on behalf of Kimco Realty Corp. affiliates. Both properties were acquired by MYA Properties LLC for an undisclosed price.
Riviera Square totals 46,107 square feet and is anchored by a new 20,707-square-foot dd’s DISCOUNTS (a division of Ross Stores) and a 12,000-square-foot Goodwill store. At the time of closing, Rivera Square was 90% occupied. Sample Plaza is a 63,613-square-foot neighborhood shopping center anchored by a 16,605-square-foot Save-A-Lot grocery store and an 8,990-square-foot Dollar General store. Sample Plaza was 72 percent occupied at the time of closing.
David Donnellan and Todd Weintraub of CBRE’s private capital group along with Dennis Carson from CBRE’s national retail investment group represented the seller in both transactions.
Washington REIT Acquires Olney Village Center
Washington REIT has acquired a 199,000-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in Olney, Md., for $58.0 million.
Olney Village Center is anchored by Shoppers Food Warehouse and is 98.7 percent leased to 32 tenants, including national retailers T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, and SunTrust Bank. Olney Village Center was built in 1979 and underwent a major renovation in 2003.
WRIT assumed a $22.6 million mortgage bearing interest at 6.37 percent per annum and maturing in 2023. WRIT funded the remaining balance of $35.4 million using available cash and its line of credit. WRIT expects to achieve a first year unleveraged yield of 6.7 percent on a cash basis.
NorthMarq Arranges $44M Mortgage for Franklin Village Plaza
Doug Nickerson, vice president of NorthMarq’s Boston regional office, and Greg Nalbandian, managing director of NorthMarq’s Northern New Jersey office, cooperated to arrange first mortgage financing of $44 million for Franklin Village Plaza. The 304,277-square-foot mixed-use shopping center is located in Franklin, Mass. Financing was based on a five-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule and was arranged for the borrower, CSC Franklin Village L.P., by NorthMarq through its correspondent relationship with Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada.
The grocery-anchored shopping center consists of 246,287 square feet of premier retail space and 57,990 square feet of office space. Tenants include Stop & Shop, Marshalls, British Beer Company and Panera Bread.
George Smith Partners Completes $34M in Financings
Commercial real estate investment banking firm George Smith Partners arranged more than $34 million of debt to refinance two challenging retail centers. Gary E. Mozer, principal and managing director, worked alongside Senior Vice President Steve Orchard, Senior Vice President Josh Roseman and Vice President Michelle Lee to package, place, and close both transactions.
The first refinance was secured by Bristol Place, a 75-percent occupied, Target shadow-anchored retail center located in Santa Ana, Calif. The client required a 75 percent loan-to-value, $15.5 million senior loan to refinance the maturing loan on the 63,000-square-foot retail center. Overall, 67 percent of the leases rolled in three years, and several of the tenants were delinquent on rents, according to Roseman.
With the property only demonstrating break-even debt coverage and with a high ($250) loan per square foot, the transaction fell beyond the comfort level of many capital providers. “In order to get the deal closed, we worked to develop a thorough understanding of the asset, the market, and the borrower, and created a comprehensive diligence package to help capital sources evaluate the perceived risks,” Roseman said in a statement.
The financing was secured on a non-recourse basis, floating at LIBOR plus 375 basis points with a 7.75 percent floor, interest-only for the full term. The term is three years with two one-year options, and is locked out for 12 months with an open prepay thereafter.
The second transaction was an $18.5 million refinance of an Albertsons grocery-anchored retail property located in Henderson, Nev. While the property was 98 percent occupied, the tertiary location about 15 miles southeast of Las Vegas severely limited the number of interested capital providers, according to George Smith partners. The client also required certainty of execution as the existing loan matured in less than 30 days. In addition to the time constraint and challenging market, the existing lease did not require Albertsons to provide sales information.
The 70 percent loan-to-value loan closed with seven-year, non-recourse debt at a 4.75 percent fixed interest rate with 25 year amortization and step-down prepay.
Cole Acquires Walmart Supercenter and Sam’s Club in Georgia
Cole Real Estate Investments acquired a 222,500-square-foot Walmart Supercenter and a 129,500-square-foot Sam’s Club for $32.8 million in Douglasville, Ga.
The adjacent properties are both subject to individual, 20-year, triple net leases scheduled to expire in 2019, with six, five-year renewal options. The properties are leased to wholly-owned subsidiaries of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is rated ‘AA’ by S&P.
Jeffrey S. Piccinelli, director of acquisitions, single-tenant retail, represented Cole. Craig Johnson of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller.
HFF Secures $29M Financing for Bressi Ranch Village Center
HFF has secured $29 million in financing for Bressi Ranch Village Center, a 111,403-square-foot, dual grocery-anchored retail center in Carlsbad, Calif.
Working on behalf of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC, which was representing an institutional separate account investor, HFF placed the fixed-rate loan with an insurance company affiliate of Hartford Investment Management Co. Loan proceeds were used to acquire the property in a sale closed by HFF in June.
Bressi Ranch Village Center is part of the 525-acre master planned Bressi Ranch development. Constructed in 2009 , the center is 97 percent leased and is anchored by Stater Bros., Trader Joes, Unleashed by PETCO, Souplantation Express, Chase Bank and Rubios.
The HFF team representing Cornerstone was led by senior managing directors Dana Brome and Tim Wright and associate director Zack Holderman.
Equity One Acquires Queens Property; Sells L.A. Office Building
Equity One Inc. acquired 90-30 Metropolitan Avenue, a 60,000-square foot neighborhood shopping center located in Forest Hills, N.Y., for $28.8 million.
The center, which is unencumbered, is 93 percent occupied and anchored by Trader Joe’s, Staples, and Michael’s. The site is located in one of the most affluent and dense neighborhoods in Queens with nearly one million people living within 3-miles of the property.
The company also announced the sale of Pacific Financial Center for $49.5 million, including the assumption of a $19.2 million mortgage, which is held in a joint venture in which the company has a 50 percent interest. Pacific Financial Center is a 213,000-square-foot office building located in Los Angeles.
H&R Retail Brokers Sale of Alexandria Commons
H&R Retail brokered the sale of Alexandria Commons, a 145,273-square-foot shopping center in Alexandria, Va.
Michael Gorsage, H&R Retail principal for investment properties, was the sole broker involved with the transaction. The center was sold by a local investor to American Realty Advisors on behalf of one of its commingled real estate funds.
Alexandria Commons is anchored by Giant grocery and Staples. Other retailers include Panera Bread, Lone Star Steak House, Starbuck’s, UPS, and Baja Fresh.
Marabella Funds Walgreens Deals
Marabella Commercial Finance Inc. funded a $3.5 million loan for a Walgreen Co. corporate leased pharmacy. The buyer for this transaction was involved in a 1031 exchange transaction. The borrower requested a long fixed rate loan term and amortization. Marabella arranged a bank portfolio loan with a 25-year amortization, a 25-year term fixed for 10 years, and thereafter, the rate adjusted and will be fixed for 5-year periods at a 225 basis points over the 10-year Treasury bill.
In the first rate adjustment (prior to year 11 of the loan) the loan has a ceiling rate of 7.50 percent. The borrower wanted a forward rate lock so Marabella structured an approximate 45-day forward rate lock and the rate was locked early in the process at 5.375 percent. This loan was non-recourse with standard carve-outs. The prepayment penalty for this loan was $2,500 for the first 20-years of the loan and the borrower has the right to prepay up to 10 percent of the outstanding principal balance per year with no prepayment penalty. This loan was applied for on around July 15, 2011 and funded on August 12, 2011.
In a separate deal, Marabella arranged a $3.12 million loan for a different Walgreens deal. The rate for this transaction was fixed at 5.125 percent for 10 years. Terms of this loan were similar to the first deal.
Other Notable Deals
RCG Ventures sold of Laurens Plaza in Laurens, S.C. The 102,839-square-foot center sold for $3.25 million and contained Big Lots, Tractor Supply, Save-A-Lot and It's Fashion Metro. RCG was represented by the Atlanta office of Colliers International.
The Woodmont Co. represented LNR Partners in the sale of the 4015 Lemmon Avenue shopping center in Dallas. The 8,338-square-foot retail center anchored by My Fit Foods. The property was purchased by a Dallas based private investment firm for an undisclosed price. Brad Cruickshank, vice president of investment sales at Woodmont, represented LNR Partners in the transaction.